Early goal helps Athens topple Rochester
TWO TO TANGO: Rochester's Riayane williams (left) and Troy Athens' Olivia Brannon coverge on the ball at a game earlier this season. Brannon and the Red Hawks toppled Rochester, 1-0, in a Division 1 district finals Saturday. File Photo
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
STERLING HEIGHTS — Troy Athens has had a knack of scoring early goals and then never allowing the opposition to claw back.
The Red Hawks did just that in Saturday’s Division 1 girls soccer district finals at Sterling Heights Stevenson.
Athens, ranked third, scored in the fifth minute then held on to oust Rochester, 1-0, to win a district championship.
Athens will play at home Tuesday against second-ranked Utica Eisenhower in the regional semifinals.
“That early goal turned out to be big. It was very hot out and we were playing a very much improved Rochester team,” said veteran Athens coach Tim Storch, who is retiring after this season. “We’ve won a couple of other games like that this year where we scored early on teams. We talked about that before the game, to apply some pressure to see if we can get a goal early.”
Athens defeated Rochester Adams, 1-0, three weeks ago, where the Red Hawks scored in the first minute in a 1-0 victory, which clinched the OAA Red Division title. Now, the Red Hawks (19-2-0) have another trophy in hand thanks to a similar win, as they are seeking another long postseason run.
Leah Schmitz scored the goal of a free kick from Miss Soccer candidate Olivia Brannon just over four minutes into the contest. Athens posted a 10-4 edge with shots directly on frame I the contest.
Headed for Iowa State, goalkeeper Jenna O’Dell, along with the Red Hawks’ stingy defensive unit in front of her, recorded the team’s12th shutout of the season.
Todd Heugh, a former player for Storch, was not disappointed in defeat, believing his team played better than in a 3-1 setback to Athens back in April.
“I am not disappointed. We held one of the best teams in the state, the team that won our league, to just one goal,” said Heugh, who had eight sophomores on his roster.. “We didn’t have our leading goal scorer here today. I don’t know if she would have generated any chances or not. I don’t want to make any excuses. Athens is a very good team. We had a good effort playing in the heat and you never know, playing in conditions like that, what can happen.”
Laura Ivezaj made nine saves for Rochester (12-7-2).
“We didn’t have to face a lot of shots, but with as hot as it was, we were fortunate enough to score early because both teams were getting tired. Had we not scored the early goal and went to overtime, you don’t want to take a chance like that.”
Next up for Athens is Eisenhower, which had 10 players sign letters of intent to play in college. Top-ranked Novi and Fraser are in the other regional semifinal.
“It’s a brutal regional, with the top (three) teams in it,” admitted Storch. “We know it’s going to take a great effort to win this regional. We’re going to have to earn it.”
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Troy Athens
[…] Early goal helps Athens topple Rochester | North Oakland Sports Headed for Iowa State goalkeeper Jenna O'Dell, along with the Red Hawks' stingy defensive unit in front of her, recorded the team's12th shutout of the season. Todd Heugh, a former player for Storch, was not disappointed […]
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